Loadometer.



C. H. RICHARDS.

LOADOMETER. APPLICATION FILED OCT-15. 19 13.

1,17 9,962. Patented Apr. 18,1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET (mu :m)

WITNESSES: LVVENTOR.

C. H. RICHARDS.

LOADOMETER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 15. 1913.

Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

RNEY.

M T m V N 1 WITNESSES: 1. J

m 45% raw? C. H. RICHARDS.

LOADOMETER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT-15.1913.

Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- H1911 m H i m 1 112 m 5% I L I \H (W J F l, 1

WITNESSES: [IV IVE TOR.

BY I W a, 'zrrwr z I O RNEY.

CARROLL H. IRICHARDS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

LOADOMETEB.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 18, 1916;

Application filed October 15, 1918. Serial No. 795,326.

'To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, CARROLL H. RICHARDS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Boston, in the State of Massachusetts, have invented new anduseful Im rovements in Loadometers, of which the ollowing is aspecification.

My invention relates to weighing devices to be carried by springvehicles to determine the load weight; and is intended to furnish asimple and effective mode and means of concentrating therecord-determinations of the load upon each wheel in a suitablyconstructed dial in order that unequal loading upon the wheels may beaccurately known and corrected and the total load ascertained. I

To this end it consists in the provision and combination of meanslocated adjacent to each bearing wheelfor utilizing, as a mechanicalorce, the vertical movement of the vehicle b dy under load, as permittedby thefiexure of the supporting spring, and of means for transmittingthe measured results of such fiexure to a common registering device inwhich the conditions of the several loadings are registered upon thesame general dial face and rendered visible side by side.

The nature and the preferred constructive features of my invention willclearly appear in the following specification of the same as applied toan automobile truck, in connection with the accompanying illustrativedrawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of the chassis of a motortruck showing particularly the parts of the mechanism concerned with theinitial motion operating the dial; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of therack and its carrying mechanism; Fig. 3 is a cross section of the sidebeam of the chassis showing in side elevation the transmitting shaftsand gears; Fig. 4, a front elevation of the transmission devices seatedon the interior face of the chassis beam at one side; Fig. 5 is ageneral face view of the dial or register; Fig. 6 is a diametrical crosssection of the dial mechanism showing construction; and Fig. 7, asection of the dial mechanism perpendicular to the axis taken on theline w-w of Fig. 6; Figs. 8 and 9 are elevations, partly in section, ofthe two cylinders and their immediate appurtenances which may beemployed in an alternate construction, substituting a shafts as a meansof transmission of the initial moving force to the dial or register; andFig. 10 is a dia ammatic view of an alternative construction in which asteel tape is employed as the power-transmittin element, in connectionwith a spring ta e-up wheel operating the dial.

Referring now to the drawings, A A designate the front and rear axles ofa motor truck; K K the side bars of the chassis frame; and S S S S, the.ordinary s rings intervening between the frame and ax es.

B designates a perpendicular pillar carried by each of the axles A justinside of the chassis bar K, by means of a split yoke b of ordinaryconstruction in which the pillar terminates, and by which it is heldrigidly in position upon the axle. One or more set screws 79, carriedradially through the yoke may be provided to take up any lost motion.

'The pillar B (Fig. 2) is provided with enlargements b I), at suitableintervals, pierced for the reception and play of lateral bracket arms, 00, provided with bifurcat-ed forward terminal heads 0 c carry ing avertical rack bar C held therein by pins. A preferable construction isshown in which the bracket arms are normally held outward by spiralsprings c c interposed between the heads 0 c and the contiguous face ofthe pillar B, and adjustable set-nuts c a, threaded upon the oppositeprojecting ends of the arms 0 c and bearing against the rear side of thepillar B.

Contiguous to and meshing with the rack bar is a spur gear d carriedrigidly upon a short transmitting shaft d journaled in a bracket D(Figs. 3 and 4), secured upon the inner face of the chassis bar K. Theshaft 01 carries at its other end a bevel gear (i in mesh with acorresponding bevel gear a at the end of a longer transmitting shaft Ejournaled in an independent bracket 6 formed upon the base of thebracket D, and in similar brackets at suitable intervals upon and alongthe inner face of the chassis bar to a point,-preferably in the frontportion of the truck frame,-whence by flexible transmitting shafts f,rotative motion is imparted to the dial mechanism as hereinafterdescribed. Duplicates of this transmitting mechanism are provided,connecting with each axle at a point'contiguous to each of its springs;and it may now be explained that inasmuch as the chassis fluid undercompression for the rotating frame supporting the body of the truck isdepressed in relation to the axles against the resistance of itscarrying springs, S, in a degree corresponding with the load, and risesin a corresponding manner as the load is removed, this rise and fallacts through the pillar B and rack bars 0 and spur gears (2 to rotatethe shafts d and E and thus rotative force is transmitted to the dialmechanism ultimately connected therewith, as follows: The dial mechanismhere illustrated consists of a cylindrical casing G (Fig. 6) having afixed axial stud g. Concentrically around the central stud at equalradial distances and angles apart, enter four shafts h, z, j, k,journaled parallel with the central stud g, in studs, 9 preferablyformed as inward projections of the back plate 9 These shafts areproportionately shorter, one with another in series, to allow the spurgears 71. i y" which are carried by the shafts respectively at theirinner ends to mesh respectively with corresponding adjacent gears 72. ij W, carried upon a series of hollow shafts h i j W, telescoped onewithin another in series and correspondingly varied in length and allcarried rotatively upon the .eentral fixed stud g of the casing.

The relative positions of the central stud and the four concentricallyarranged shafts about it, with gear wheels in mesh, is shown in Fig.7,-it being premised that these four gear wheels occupy differentplanes, varying in distance from the face of the dial, and that thecentral gear shown in dotted lines, stands-for either of the four gearscarried by the telescoped hollow shafts.

The hollow shafts are prolonged forward each beyond the other in seriesin inverse order from the rear prolongations, and carry each a hub withcurved radial arms, constituting spiders, h i j is carrying at theirouter ends concentric rings k i j is, occupying the same plane andtogether constituting the face of the dial G shown in full face view inFig. 5.

The rear ends of the shafts h, i, j, is, are connected in the usualmanner by collars or otherwise by flexible shafting with the severalshafts E, and thus the load depression of the chassis frame, convertedinto rotary motion, is transmitted from each point of spring-contact ofeach axle to a rotary member of the dial plate G Given bearing springs Sof uniform resisting force, the degrees of depression of the body of thetruck in relation to the axle caused by increments of weight. is thustranslated into corresponding fractions or degrees of an entirerevolution and duly transmitted to the dial and may be readilyperceived.

I prefer to so arrange the mechanism, as already intimated, that therings k i j k rotate oppositely each with the next; so

that as the observer stands facing the dial,

the movement of the. dial rings to the right (as the hands of a clock)refers to the wheels at the corresponding side of the ve-- (connected tothe opposite end of the same axle) in the opposite direction from thesame zero point, gives a measure of degrees between the extreme pointsreached for the aggregated load upon the axle, while the measure of eachextreme from the zero point indicates the load upon each wheel. Themarkings being upon the contact edges, these values are thus readilyseen and understood.

As indicated in Figs. 8, 9 and 10, other means of transmission may besubstituted for gears and shafting already described and shown. Thus inlieu of the posts B, a cylinder L (Fig. 8) carried upon a bracket Zattached to the axle A, with its piston 1 attached by a rod to the sidebar of the chassis frame K as shown so that the piston reciprocates inthe cylinder as the frame is moved in relation to the axle. A pipe lentering the lower end of the cylinder L, is carried along the frame tothe vicinity of the register, where it enters a corresponding cylinder Mat rear of a reciprocating piston m, having a piston rod m. extendingoutward and terminating in a rack m where it engages a suitably mountedspur gear m (indicated by dotted lines Fig. 9) operating a flexibleshaft operatively connected as before indicated, to an appropriatemember of the register.

The piston rod m is encircled by a spiral spring 8 between the pistonand the c linder head, which normally holds the piston receded against ashoulder formed by a slight reduction in the diameter of thefluidreceiving end of the cylinder. At this ortion of reduced diameter,the cylinder is provided with a side well m threaded for the receptionof a compression screw m for adjusting the dial member by varying'thecompression of the oil in the cylinder and connections. a

The mode of operation is suflicientl obvious. The descent of cylinder Lorces oil in COIfiPI'GSSlOIl through the tube Z into cylinder andoperates the shaft f by means of the rackbar m and gear m. Similarapparatus and connections are provided for the operation of each of theshafts h, i, j, k.

In Fig. 10 a steel tape T is indicated, passing over a roller t, to atake-up wheel T provided with a spring a coiled upon its axle and itsouter end made fast .to the frame or holding bracket. To the axle ofthis wheel the flexible shafting already described may be attached.

I have shown and described herein a dial whereby the load at each andall the wheels may be registered upon the same dial face; but it will beapparent that separate dials may be 'inclosed in the casing and such isalso within the scope of my invention. Further, the mechanism andapparatus shown and described herein, may be varied largely in detailwithout departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States:

1. In a wheeled vehicle having bearing springs upon the axles contiguousto the wheels, the combination of means actuated by the load against theresistance of the bearing springs at points of wheel-support, with meansfor transmitting motion thereby produced to a common point, and acomposlte registering apparatus to register in contiguous positions upona common visual area the measured load upon the vehicle at the severalspring positions.

2. In a wheeled vehicle ofthe character indicated, the combination ofmeans connected with each of the axles adjacent to the bearing wheelsfor causing the relative apparatus, transmitting mechanisms severallyconnecting its individual dial faces with each axle at or near eachwheel, and opcrating and transmitting means for causing the relativemovement of the vehicle body under load toward the axle at eachconnecting point to operate the dial faces independently.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

CARROLL H. RICHARDS. Witnesses CLARENCE L. CLARK, EDWARD C. FELTON.

